Tag: Racism

“I’d want white, Minnesota Catholics to examine their conscience: Where have you have failed to do good? And in doing so, I think that’s where the answers will come in their role in all of this, and how to renew the face of the earth.”

Much like the coronavirus pandemic, racism is a “spiritual” virus that has spread throughout the world and must be eradicated, said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The bishop who heads the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism said the May 25 death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police “reminds us that people are losing their lives because of racism.”

The chairmen of three boards of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a joint statement expressing their deep concern about incidents of racism and xenophobia against Americans of Asian and Pacific Island heritage amid the coronavirus outbreak.

While the United States has “come a long way” in addressing racism and injustice, much more remains to be accomplished to achieve the dream of “the beloved community” envisioned by the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said.

On the heels of last summer’s National Black Catholic Congress in Orlando, local participants organized the Black Catholic Leadership Initiative to put the congress’ themes into play with three focus areas: prayer, youths and justice. The meeting at St. Raphael provided an update of the group’s ongoing work as well as a spiritual retreat.